Sarko tackles Gates
(BRUXELLES2) Robert Gates took for his grade today in Brussels. Questioned by a colleague, Nicolas Sarkozy made a dive attack on the recent statements made in Brussels by the former Secretary of State for Defense on the military capabilities of the Europeans. " He was retiring. And obviously it didn't make him happy. Nothing was to be expected other than the expression of a little bitterness. But above all, the French president takes issue with Robert Gates, whose analysis he challenges. " It is an unfair statement, which falls badly for them and does not correspond to any reality. (...) He did not look very closely at what was going on in Libya. The Americans are not doing most of the work in Libya. It's particularly inappropriate for Robert Gates to say that and totally wrong! And bam, return to sender...
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And our president to be himself in the false. While France and Great Britain are not, indeed, the weakest military powers, they are both greatly reducing their defense budgets.
Above all, these two countries cannot represent a faithful image of defense for the countries of Europe, which are in fact condemned to have only sovereignty capabilities (and even then, for some).
As for what is happening in Libya, this proves Gate doubly right, and our president doubly wrong:
– this intervention would not have been and would not be possible without American assistance
– this intervention cannot be continued for as long as necessary by the Europeans without ruining their defense system. Just look at France's ability to deploy its only aircraft carrier: what will we do when we bring it back?
Nevertheless, it is true that it must be unpleasant to have your fingers tapped when you are the “least worst”. That's no reason to lie.
* In the speech he delivered on May 20, 2011 before the IHEDN, the Chief of Staff of the French Armed Forces, Admiral Guillaud, considered that the French armies are "weakened" by the reforms in progress (RGPP , conclusions of the LBDSN) while the consequences of the economic and financial crisis of 2008 continue to weigh and make the budgetary context complicated.
Admiral Guillaud underlined the importance of these reforms, which he even qualified as "transformations", which call into question the "structures", the "organizations", the "procedures" and the "traditional modes of operation". .
As for the budgetary equation, he affirmed that the current "financial constraints", which "burden our operational endurance" are likely to "call into question our regeneration, that is to say our ability to assume the missions entrusted to us ". There would even be urgency. “Today, by pulling on the strings of operational preparation and training, we are touching the balance of our tool,” he explained.
He also deplored the “trampling of a cacophonous or voiceless Europe (…) unable to conceive of itself as a global power on the international scene”;
Source: http://www.opex360.com/2011/05/26/lamiral-guillaud-pointe-les-fragilites-de-larmee-francaise/
* “For several decades, no law of a financial nature, whether finance laws or programming laws, has been scrupulously respected. The corrections made during execution (freezing, cancellation and carryover of appropriations, reduction in public orders, calendar carryover, annual variation of the reference system, etc.) are legion and have, over the course of the budget exercises, built a model that is noticeably lacking operational consistency and budgetary rationality. » See the report of the deputy (UMP) François Cornut-Gentille (http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/13/pdf/budget/plf2011/a2862-tvii.pdf)
* According to various parliamentary reports relating to the Defense section of the 2011 LFI, equipment loans (16 billion euros) are down 6% compared to 2010, but should increase again in 2012 and 2013. planned maintenance of equipment (2,6 billion euros) as well as that intended for defense studies (1,7 billion euros), is stable compared to 2010.
An additional effort aimed at reducing operating costs by 10% by 2013 has been announced.
The savings relate mainly to equipment expenditure, by carrying out a time lag of certain operations, without calling into question major programs, the LPM having in any case to be updated in 2012. These postponements of programs are completed through financial measures, in particular the timing of the payment of installments to suppliers.
Are mentioned in particular:
– the postponement of the launch of the renovation of the Mirage 2000D;
– the postponement of the MRTT multirole refueling aircraft program;
– the postponement of the fourth phase of the SCCOA airspace surveillance and air operations command program;
– the postponement of certain land armament programs (future reconnaissance armored vehicle, Leclerc renovation, single rocket launcher);
– the postponement of the Ceres listening satellite program (which was to come into service in 2016).
source: http://www.senat.fr/rap/a10-112-5/a10-112-52.html#toc18
See also the article by Louis Gautier entitled: “Defence budget: turn of the nut and evasion” (http://www.louisgautier.net/page6/page63/page63.html
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